The crown hovered in the air a halo of flickering starlight and condensed history. It did not emit a physical glow but instead radiated a crushing pressure that forced the very air in the sanctum to stagnate. Julian stood before the apparition his breath hitching in his throat. He felt the phantom weight of a thousand years pressing against his temples. This was not a trinket for a ruler. It was an interface for a dimension that had forgotten how to exist.
Elara regained her footing her palms still glowing with the pale green light of the forest. She stumbled toward him and gripped his arm. Her touch was cold and frantic. She begged him to look away. She told him that she could feel the hunger of the crown. It wanted to consume his humanity and replace his beating heart with the grinding
